There are a variety of worker protections that New York advocates are pushing hard to pass during the final few weeks of the legislative session.

Rochester Democratic state Assemblyman Harry Bronson, who chairs the Assembly Labor Committee, is the lead sponsor of many of them.

“Three of the bills are kind of industry specific,” Bronson told Capital Tonight. “One is a Warehouse Industry Workers Act; another is for nail salon workers (S1800 / A378); a third relates to retail workers (S8358B / A8947C); and last is to monitor and have programs in place for temperature across a number of industries (S1604D / A8935A).”

The so-called Warehouse Worker Industry Reduction Act (S5081B/A8907) was prompted by a study from the National Employment Law Project, which found that in 2022, one in 11 warehouse workers in New York experienced an injury requiring medical attention.

The bill would require annual safety evaluations of large warehouses for potential risks and will establish industry-wide safety standards, among other mandates.   

All four bills are currently in committee in the Assembly.